Conveyer adapted to road-sweeping machines.



W. BARNETT & J. FLORENDINE. CONVEYER ADAPTED T0 ROAD'SWEEPIN'G MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV- 2911916- Patented Feb. 5,1918.

' z. SHEETS-SHEET I.

W. BARNETT 6: J. FLORENDINE, CONVEYEB ADAPTED T0 ROAD SWEEPING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29.1916.

. Patented Feb. 5,1918.

2 SHEETS -SHEET 2.

* l era GONVEYEB ADAPTED TO ROAD-SWEEPIN'G MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 5., 19 18..

Application filed November 29, 1916. Serial No. 134,113.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, lVALrnn BARNETT and JAMES Fiionnnniivn, subjects ofthe King of Great Britain residing at Rugby, Warwickshire, England, haveinvented cer tain new and useful Improvements in Con-- veyers ,Adaptedto Road-Sweeping Ma chines and of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to conveyer mechanism which is particularlyapplicable to road sweeping machines of that kind in which the refuse,swept by a rear rotary brush driven from the road wheels of the machine,is delivered to a refuse receiving trough extending the width of themachine, the trough contain ing a revoluble shaft carrying twooppositely inclined helical blades to convey the refuse from each end ofthe trough to the center thereof where the trough is conjoined by anendless conveyor to elevate the refuse and deliver it into any suitablereceptacle.

The present invention consists in providing such a refuse receivingtrough to receive refuse from a rearwardly located road brush, theforward edge of said trough be ing directly fixed to the boot of anelevator casing which is less in width than said trough, the said bootand said trough conjoining in such manner that an elevated dividingridge is formed located at the junction between the said receivingtrough and the .boot of said elevator casing: with this constructionoppositely inclined helical blades meeting opposite the center of theboot of said conveyer and operating not only to carry the refuse in thetrough to a position centrally of the elevator. but also acting to liftand transfer the refuse from the trough over the said dividing ridgeinto the boot of the elevator.

The invention will be described with referenceto the accompanyingdrawings, whereon Figure 1 is a side elevation showing so much of amachine according to this invention as will be necessary for thepurposes of this specification, Fig. 2 being a part plan view of Fig. 1,while Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the machine shown at Fig. 1.

Referring to the accompanying drawings. the machine, which is intendedto be traveled in the direction of the arrow Fig. 1, is carried by roadwheels 1 supporting a suitable framework 2, the rear end of which iscarried by a pivot wheel 3. The rotary road brush 4 is carried insuitable bearings from the framework 2 and may be cylindrical, but as weprefer according to this invention the bristles of the brush are cutaway as at 5 to form grooves extending parallel with the axis of thebrush, so that the end view or vertical section of the brushtransversely of the axis presents a serrated series of bristlesextending the full diameter, a gap existing between any two suchprojecting parts so that the said projecting parts come consecutivelyinto contact with the road with short intervals between such actions.The rotary brush 4 is conveniently revolved in a direction opposite tothe road wheels.

The brush 4 receives its rotary motion from sprocket wheels 6 indicatedby dotted lines at Fig. 3, say one on each end of the road wheel axle 7,the sprocket wheels 6 being preferably connected with the road wheelaxle through ratchet gear (not shown), so that the machine may be reversed in its direction of travel without operating the sprocket wheels6 which will, then only be revolved when the machine is traversed in aforward direction.

From the sprocket wheels 6 chains 8 (shown by dotted lines only at Fig.3) extend to sprocket wheels 9 mounted on stud axles extending-from theframework. the sprocket wheels 9 carrying toothed wheels gearing withpinions on the axle of the brush 4.

Also on each end of the axle of the brush 4 sprocket wheels areprovided, from which chains 10 extend to drive a shaft 11. hereafterreferred to, extending the full width of a refuse receiving trough 12and carried in bearings at the ends thereof.

The receiving trough 12 is located forward of the brush, extends thefull width of the machine, and has its rear edge 13 at a proper distancefrom the brush 4 and at a proper elevation above the road surface, sothat the brush 4 throws the refuse from the road directly into thetrough 12.

The receiving trough 12 is as shown at Fig. 3, fixed or constructed withthe lower part of an inclined elevator casing 14, so that between theelevator boot and the trough 12 there is an upstanding dividing ridge,and the elevator 14 is as shown at Fig. 2, less in width than the trough12 and is connected with the trough centrally of the width of the same.

Fixed upon the shaft 11 in the trough 12 are two helical'blades, onehelical blade 15 being inclined in one direction, and the other helicalblade 16 in the opposite direction,

. the blades extending from the ends of the trough to about the centerof the trough where the central termination of the helical blades 15 and16 meet. In the drawing Fig. 2 the blades at the center terminate uponopposite sides of the shaft; obviously they may be arranged to terminateon the same side of the shaft whiclr is a design that we have found toact well.

In constructing this machine the helical blades 15 and 16 are made offlexible and resilient material, such as india rubber, leather .orbristles, as describedinthe specification of our divisional applicationSerial No. 179,476, filed July 9, 1917 this construction being adoptedin order that the helical blades may not be thrown out of action ordamaged by hard substances foreigntothe bulk of the material beingconveyed.

The base or lower surface of the trough 12 is brought close'to the roadsurface, and therefore it is desirable that the trough should be movablycarried from the framework of the machine so that it can become liftedor raised relatively to the surface of the road by any obstruction. uponthe road which it may encounter, so that the trough shall pass over suchobstruction without causing damage to the machine.

To this end we so support the trough 12 andso carry the same from theframework-- that it is permitted to be lifted by any obstruction it mayencounter upon the road, and since it is frequently desirable that thefloor of the boot 14 of the conveyor should extend as low down towardthe road as pos sible in order to prevent any of the refuse thrown intothe boot being turned back into the trough by the action of the conveyerbuckets, the conveyer casing 1% is fixed to or constructed in a piecewith the trough 12.

The casing 14 of the conveyer is supported from the framework 2 of thevehicle by means of a pivot 17 carried by brackets 18, one of whichbrackets is located at each side of the conveyor casing, and the saidbrackets are fixed to and carried by the side frames of the machine, sothat the conveyor casing 14L and consequently the trough 12 may haverocking motion within limits about the pivot 17 should an obstruction onthe road come beneath the said trough 12, or the bucket 14, and therebydamage to the machine is prevented.

In order to support the trough 12 and the .lower portion of the conveyerconnected therewith and to limit the distance between thesald trough 12and the road surface, the

trough 12 is supported at each end from two points of support, the firstof which consists of a lever 19, one end of which is pivoted at 20 tothe end of the trough 12, the said lc- Yer-1.9 extending forwardly ofthe machine and having its fulcrum at 21 carried from the frame workforward of the trough 12, the second arm of the lever 19 (the leverbeing two-armed) being counterweiglited at 22 so as to partly balancethe weight of the trough 12 and the parts connected therewith.

The end of the forward arm of the lever 19 is fitted with a pin 23,entering a slot in the end of an arm 24, pivoted at its upper end to acrank arm 25 on a transversely extending shaft 26, which latter iscarried in bearing bracket from the forward end of the frame 2 of themachine.

Fixed on the shaft 26 are two two-armed levers 27 to the upper ends ofwhich the triangular bar connection 28 is fixed, which connection 28forms a means by which the machine is drawn along the road.

In the normal position of the lovers 27, that is in the position shownat Fig. 1, when the vehicle is being traveled the levers 27 are held inthe position shown and the pin 2 of the lever 19 is at the upper end ofthe slots in the arm 2 1, and the pivot 20 assists in retaining thetrough 12 in position. while the lever 19 permits the trough 12 to liftshould the base of the trough encounter an obstruction on the road.

The trough 12 further has (as a second point of support) on each end, abolt 29 pivoted to its end, extending upward and pass ing rather freelythrough a bearing sleeve 30 carried in the framework 2 of the machine,above which bearing sleeve the bolt 29 has a nut or head and preferablyan elastic washer 31 between the said head and the said sleeve, so thatthe distance between the trough 12 and the road surf-ace is definitelylimited by the bolt 29, while the trough 12, together with the lowerpart of the elevator casing 14, is permitted to lift upon meeting anyobstruction.

Not only is the trough 12 permitted to lift upon any obstruction on theroad contacting with its base, but also with the arrangement. described,when the machine is moved rearwardly the bar 28 rocks the levers 27,actuating the levers 19, and mechanically raising the trough 12 awayfrom the road. Obvi ously the distance of the trough 12 away from theroad can be adjusted by means of nuts on the bolts 29. It should beunderstood, as already mentioned, that the trough is supported bysimilar members on both sides of the machine.

The casing 14 contains an elevator of any well known or approvedconstruction, and as indicated at Fig. 3 this may consist of chains 82passing over a lower sprocket wheel 33 and an upper sprocket wheel 34,and the chains 32 carry buckets 85 which collect the refuse from theboot of the elevator, and tilt the refuse down a chute 36 into a wagon87 Fig. 3.

In order to drive the chains 32 of the elevator there is fixed on theaxle of the lower chain wheels 33, a chain wheel 88, connected by anendless chain to a chain wheel 39 revoluble on the pivot 17 about whichthe elevator casing may rock, and the chain wheel 39 is connected to achain wheel 40011 the same pivot 17, and the chain wheel 40 is connected by an endless chain 42 with a chain wheel ell fixed on the axle 7of the road wheels. I

hat we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentis 1. In conveyer mechanism applicable to road sweeping machines of thekind specifiod; the combination of a trough, an elevator casing fixed atits lower boot end to said trough, an elevated dividing ridge located atthe junction between said trough and the boot of said elevator casing, ashaft extending through said trough, two oppositely inclined helicalblades carried by said shaft the helical blade of one inclinationmeeting the helical blade of the opposite inclination opposite the bootof said elevator casing to carry the refuse in said trough to a positionadjacent to said boot of said ele vator casing and to transfer therefuse from said trough over said elevated dividing ridge into the bootof said elevator casing, and means for driving said shaft carrying saidhelical blades. v

2. In eonveyer mechanism applicable to road sweeping machines of thekind specified; the combination of a trough segmental in cross sectionto receive the refuse to be conveyed, an elevator casing less in widththan said trough located forward of same and fixed at its lower boot endto said trough, an elevated dividing ridge located at the junctionbetween said receiving trough and the boot of said elevator casing, ashaft extending through said receiving trough, two oppositely inclinedhelical blades carried by said shaft the helical blade of oneinclination meeting the helical blade of the opposite inclinationopposite the center of said ridge between said trough and elevatorcasingto carry the refuse in said trough to a position central of saidboot of said elevator casing and to lift and transfer the refuse oversaid elevated ridge into the boot of said elevator casing and means fordriving said shaft carrying said helical blades.

3. In conveyer mechanism of the kind specified; the combination of atrough segmental in cross section to receive the refuse to be conveyed,an elevator casing less in width than said trough attached at its lowerboot end centrally of said trough, an elevated dividing ridge at thejunction of said elevator boot and said trough, a shaft ex tendingthrough and lengthwise of said trough, two oppositely inclined helicalblades of a flexible and resilient character carried by said shaft thehelical blade of one inclination meeting the helical blade of theopposite inclination centrally of said trough and being adapted to carrythe refuse to the center of said trough and there lift said refuse oversaid dividing and elevated ridge into the boot of the elevator easingand means for driving said shaft carrying said helical blades, allsubstantially as hereiubefore specified.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in the presence of twowitnesses.

WALTER BARNETT. JAMES FLORENDINE. Witnesses:

ERNEsT HARKER, DAVID C. KERR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

